1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise aid for use in connection with increasing and maintaining vaginal health and sexual enjoyment. The toning balls have particular utility in connection with toning the pubococcygeus (PC) muscles and providing a durable and safe set of toning balls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of small balls use for strengthening the pubococcygeus (PC) muscles and increasing sexual enjoyment is well known. For centuries, Ben Wa balls have been used for strengthening the PC muscles and for sexual enjoyment. Ben Wa balls are spherical balls which can be inserted into the vaginal canal and held in place by controlled muscle movements. These balls are not connected to each other, so the balls will not continually knock against each other and separate causing vibrations within the vagina. When the balls are connected to each other, there is an enhancement of the effectiveness of the exercise the PC muscle receives without consciously controlling the muscle. This limits the effectiveness of the exercises done with the balls. In addition, the lack of a cord makes it more difficult to remove the balls when the exercise is complete. Ben Wa balls are made from various metals or are plated with a metal or a plastic. In some instances, 24 k gold is used to plate the Ben Wa balls to create an inert surface and increase on which bacteria will not grow. This causes the cost of the balls to dramatically increase, and the balls have to be discarded when the gold plating comes off. Other balls may be coated with a thin plastic shell, but with use, this shell deteriorates and creates a surface on which harmful bacteria will grow. Other than Ben Wa balls, Kegal exercises are used to increase the strength of the PC muscle and improve blood circulation to the pelvic area. This exercise has been shown to be effective, but a woman must spend time consciously exercising her PC muscle.
Specific devices for strengthening the PC muscles are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,273 to Cole discloses a muscle exercise device for vaginal muscles having inflatable balls connected to each other by a stem. This light and flexible device can be used to measure the amount of tone in the PC muscle. However, Cole""s patent does not provide weighted balls, which will vibrate to exercise the PC muscles, and has further drawbacks of not being durable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,791 to Mitchener discloses a muscle-toning device having a soft latex bulbous body and an elastic cable for removal. However, Mitchener""s patent does not provide weighted balls, which will vibrate to exercise the PC muscle, and additionally does not provide a durable rubber coating.
Other elongated devices have been developed which can be inserted into the vagina for exercising the PC. U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,150 to Harris discloses an elongated apparatus for measuring tone and exercising the PC muscle using a liquid supply and a pump. This device cannot be worn internally without the presence of an external pump, limiting its usefulness. U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,489 to Martin discloses an elongated device in which an axial force within the device can be controlled externally by the user. This device is not useful for exercise without the conscious external control of the user. Neither of these devices provides weighted balls that will exercise the PC muscle by vibrating.
Other devices known in the art are also available for exercising the PC muscle. Duoton (Vibratone) Balls are two balls encased in a larger plastic sphere joined together with a nylon cord (The Love Boutique, Grand Prairie AB Canada). These balls cause vibration stimulation in the vaginal region and cause muscle contractions that exercise the PC muscles. However, the plastic sphere coating these balls wears rapidly and will tear. Any tear or hole in the plastic exposes the ball material to air and to the warm and moist conditions in the vagina. These conditions coupled with an unsanitary surface drastically increase the chance that harmful bacteria will grow on the balls or on the cord causing irritating and potentially harmful conditions. Therefore, these balls must be discarded after only a few uses, drastically increasing the cost of using the device.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe durable toning balls that allows for exercise of the PC muscles without conscious effort of the user. The above devices make no provision for creating inexpensive toning balls based on exercise through vibrations within the vagina that do not need to be frequently replaced because of wear and cheap manufacture.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved set of feminine toning balls that can be used to exercise the PC muscle and for sexual enjoyment that are durable and sanitary. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the feminine toning balls according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of toning the PC muscle with a device that is durable and sanitary.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of toning balls now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved feminine toning balls, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved feminine toning balls and method which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features. This results in a set of feminine toning balls that is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises feminine toning balls comprising a plurality of metal balls connected to each other with a cord, having an exterior coating comprising a hard rubber. The exterior coating seamlessly covers the balls and the cord extends from one of the metal balls for easy retrieval. There are 2-5 connected balls in the toning balls that are spherical, ovate, or prolate. The rubber exterior coating is preferably a latex-free rubber suitable for inter-body use and is thick enough to prevent rapid wear and tearing.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
The invention may also include a novelty feature such as adding color or patterns on the surface of the balls to enhance the enjoyment of using the balls. Similarly, the outer coating of the balls may comprise a glow-in-the-dark material.
There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved set of feminine toning balls that have all of the advantages of the prior art toning and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved set of feminine toning balls that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved set of feminine toning balls that have a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor but yet retain their durability, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such feminine toning balls economically available to the buying public.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide new feminine toning balls that provide in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for using the feminine toning balls of the current invention that includes lubricating and inserting the toning balls as described herein into the vagina.